The Pleasures of Life

ppy, this must be

men to be hap

ribute as far as we may to the happiness of our fellow-creatures. There are many, however, who seem to doubt whether it is right that we should try to be happy ourselves. Our own happiness ought not, of course, to be our main object, nor indeed will it ever be secured if selfishly sought.

on the Duty of Happiness as well as on the Happiness of Duty, for we ought to be as cheerful as we ca

day, which sheds its brightness on all around; and most of us ca

evances, especially if more or less imaginary. To be bright and cheerful often requires an effort; there is a certain art in keeping

eed, are strangely

before

for wha

cerest

e pain i

e those that tell of

be true at all, will, I hope, prove a transitory characteristic. "Merry England" was the old saying, let us hope it may become true

re for one sho

ain we get is

ng life's probl

by regrets, w

nce Siddartha, in Edwin A

oices of the

rest, and rest

ind is, so i

, a sob, a sto

f suffering, no wonder that Nirvana-the cessation of sorrow

urselves a very different ideal-a

in the world like straws on a river: they do not go; they are carried," [4]-but as Homer makes Ulysses say, "H

ved "to work out life no longer by halv

en, Gute

t zu l

ay be, and ought to be, bright, interesting, and happy; and, according to the I

t the bright side of things, but at things as they really are; if we avail ourselves of the mani

rvants w

ke notice of.

that which do

s makes him

! Man is one w

o attend

d beauties of the Universe, which is our own if we choose to have it so; the extent to which we can make o

neglect of opportunit

an do

his own blessin

ond round, mus

ing penitenc

es himself of

avishment his

n when he shoul

uch on His giving of bread, and raiment, and health (which He gives to all inferior creatures): they require us not to thank Him for that glory of His works which He has permitted us alone to perceive: they tell us often to meditate in the closet, but they send us not, like Isaac, into the fields at even: they dwell on the duty of self denial, but they exhibit not th

with lost opportunities"? "Whoever enjoys not life," says Sir T. Browne, "I count

n work me damage except myself; the harm that I sustain I carry

arcus Aurelius, "have put all the means in man's power to enable him not to fall into

ays content with that which happens; for I think that what God chooses is better than what I choose." And again: "Seek not that things should happen as you wish; but wish

pain, sickness, and anxiety; from the loss, the unkindness, the faults, even the col

des Geistes at Jena, on the 14th October 1806, not knowing

d that we might take a less

by the silen

by the sigh

not the thing

ove, amuseme

hemselves, an

God's other

asks all their

the mighty

true

is his

s our a

ood o

icuous by oneself, and single in integrity." [6] But to many this isolation would be itself most pa

om sharing their happiness, and lose far more than we gain. If we avoid sympathy and wrap ourselves round in a cold chain armor of selfishness, we exclu

, a very necessity of existence. But for it, but for the warnings which our feelings give us, the very blessings by which we are surrounded would soon and inevitably prove fatal. Many of those who have not studied the question are under the impression that the more deeply-seated portions of the body mus

ardly admit that they may be good in themselves. Yet they are knowledge-how else to be acquired, unless by making men as gods, enabling them to understa

," [9] and "pour sentir les grands biens, i

hould wish, many will feel, as in Leigh Hunt's

ce for us, h

essities its

our prayers, hel

denies what s

because 'twoul

deny, and in d

al interferences, will rejoice in the belief that on the whol

it do

f sho

jestic, equa

eansing, raisi

ume small trou

thoughts, thoughts las

ca, "calamity turns to our advantage; and great ruins make way for greater glories." Helmholtz dates his start in science to an attack of illness. This led to his acquisition of a microscope, which he was enabled to purchase, owin

une came to visit him, to crush his heart, and to impart that marked melancholy which characterizes a soul in grief; and the grief that circled his brows with a crown of thorns was also that which wreathed them with the splendor of immortality. His hopes were centered

it by the supposition of evil Spirits. The Greeks attributed the misfortunes of men in great measure to the antipathies and jealousies

In the very nature of things, two and two cannot make five. Epictetus imagines Jupiter addressing man as follows: "If it had been possible to make

l the others which you possess. Can you then show me in what way you have taken care of it? For it is not likely that you, who ar

lso whether it be happy or unhappy, is very much in our own power, and depends greatly on ourselves. "Time alone relieves the foolish from sorrow, but reason

her the little "daily dyings" which cloud over the sunshine of life. Many o

are well named! It is our own fault if we are querulous or ill-humored; nor need we, though thi

nly of the happiness of the moment, and sacrifice that of the life. Troubles comparatively seldom come to us, it is we who go to them. Many

man has, i

ty to rea

e it was besieged," but we often distress ourselves greatly in the apprehension of misfortunes which after all never happen at all. We should do our best an

ul, qui est le crime; et celui-la dépend de nous: nos maux physiques no

s oft in our

cribe to he

ren, however, are often over-anxious and acutely sensitive. Man ought to be man and master of his fate; but children are at the mercy of those around them. Mr. R

ut it is a danger to be striven against. "The terrors of t

only a burden to the bearer. [16] We most of us give ourselves an immense amount of useless trouble; encumber ourselves, as it were, on the journey of life with a dead weight of unnecessary baggage; and as "a man maketh his train longer, he makes his wings shorter." [17] In that deli

who annexed a great deal of his property, and all Hearne says is, "The weight of our baggage being so much lightened, our next day's journey wa

an the thing which makes us angry; and we suffer much more from the anger and vexation which we allow acts to rouse in us, than we do from the acts themselves at which we are angry and vexed. How much most people, for instance, allow themselves to be distr

appen we do but make them

ent? I must go into exile. Can I be prevented from going with cheerfulness and contentment? But I will put you in

in ourselves. Socrates lived under the Thirty Tyrants.

ns, without a slave; I sleep on the ground; I have no wife, no children, no praetorium, but only the earth and heavens, and one poor clock. And what do I want? Am I not without sorrow? Am I not without fear? Am I not free? When did any of you see me failing in the object of my desire? or ever falling into

ngelo said. We forget them because they are always with us; and yet for each of us, as Mr. Pater well observes, "these simple gifts, and others equally trivial, bread and wine, fruit and milk, might regain

on; let us not forget to praise Him for the innocent mirth and pleasure we have met with since we met together. What would a blind

h, but in few wants. In this fortunate country, however, we may have ma

he corn grow, or the blossoms set; to draw hard breath over plough-share or spade; to re

ome to relieve me, and I can still discourse; and, unless I list, they have not taken away my merry countenance and my cheerful spirit and a good conscience.... And he that ha

the sun, the moon, and stars, and enjoys earth a

nd the boundless ocean; 'silent pinnacles of aged snow' in one hemisphere, the marvels of tropical luxuriance in another; the serenity of sunsets; the sublimity of storms; everything is bestowed in boundless profusion on the scene of our existence; we can conceive or desire nothing more exquisite or perfect than what is round us every hour; and our perceptions are so framed as to be consciously alive to all. The provision made for our sensuous enjoyment is in overflowing abundance; so is that for the other elements of our complex nature. Who tha

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